Celebrating National Cybersecurity Month with Security & Privacy Professional Michael Lester

“You’re never bored in cybersecurity,” said Michael Lester, faculty member in the Master of Cybersecurity Leadership (MCL) program at Wake Forest School of Professional Studies (SPS). “Every day, something new happens. Someone gets hacked. A new vulnerability is discovered. And you have to ask, ‘How do we protect against this?’”

This is a question he’s been asking himself since he entered the cybersecurity field in 2012. A Marine Corps veteran and longtime technologist, Michael earned a master’s degree in electrical engineering and began teaching at the U.S. Naval Academy. After retiring from the military, his career evolved to include writing code for a software development company. 

It was there that a lightbulb went off for Michael: “I realized that in software, security is going to be huge, and nobody’s covering it the way they should.”

The switch to cybersecurity took off, and Michael went on to serve as Chief Information Security Officer of an IT consulting firm that was eventually bought by Cognizant (Nasdaq-100: CTSH). At Cognizant, he conducted risk analysis of mergers and acquisitions. Michael and his wife also founded IronClad Family, a company that helps individuals protect sensitive digital information, like cryptocurrency credentials, that loved ones may one day need access to 

Today, Michael brings his experience to Wake Forest SPS and the Cybersecurity Leadership program. For him, the intersection of technology and leadership is where the real impact lies. 

“A lot of cybersecurity professionals are technical,” he explained. “But leadership means being able to talk to the business in terms it understands, such as return on investment, financial impact, risk mitigation. Cybersecurity can’t just be a technical barrier. It has to be a business enabler.”

Laying the Foundation for Future Cybersecurity Leaders  

The MCL program launched this fall, and Michael is teaching the first course, CYB 710: Foundations in Cybersecurity Leadership to the inaugural cohort group. Many of his students come from diverse backgrounds—law enforcement, IT, even non-technical fields—but they share a common goal: entering a fast-growing discipline with tremendous career opportunities.

“They say there are more cybersecurity jobs than people to fill them right now, which is absolutely true,” Michael explained. “However, what they don’t tell you is most of the entry level positions are easy to fill, but we’re missing a lot of the intermediate, upper level management types. People who have a foundational understanding of technology and business.” 

And this is a gap Michael hopes to help close through the program. Students spend the first weeks grounding themselves in the fundamentals of leadership and cybersecurity before diving into more advanced topics like tools, threat analysis, and business communication. The ultimate goal: graduates who not only understand the technical side but can translate cybersecurity into strategy and action at the organizational level.

His ultimate goal is for students to finish the class understanding:

• What it means to lead 
• The basics of cybersecurity
• How cybersecurity can be a business enabler 

At the heart of his teaching philosophy is that students understand leadership is not just a title, but action. 

“An effective cybersecurity leader is someone who has a deep understanding of the industry and can communicate how security enables the business,” he says. “That ability to translate between technical teams and decision-makers is critical.”

>>Meet another cybersecurity expert: Academic Director Brandon Sloan 

Looking Ahead: AI and Quantum

Every day, there’s something new happening in cybersecurity. But when looking to the future, Michael sees two technologies that will majorly impact the discipline. 

“Artificial intelligence and quantum computing will change everything,” Michael said. 

He explained that quantum computing could render today’s encryption obsolete in seconds, while AI already generates novel attack strategies faster than humans can imagine. But in this, Michael sees opportunity, too. In fact, he redesigned parts of his Wake Forest course to incorporate AI directly into assignments. 

“Students need to know how to use AI effectively, because it’s going to be a tool in their future if it isn’t already,” he said.

Lessons for Everyday Security 

Michael’s insights aren’t only reserved for corporations or students. He has made security part of his everyday practices. 

For National Cybersecurity Month, he shared three tips for people to consider in their daily lives: 

1. Never reuse passwords. “If a hacker gets your login from a site with weak security, and you’ve used that same password for your bank, they’ve got everything,” he warned.
2. Rethink about personal information you’re giving away for “free” perks. Michael explained: “In cybersecurity, there’s a saying: if something’s free, that means you’re the product.”
3. Connect to free wi-fi only if you have a VPN.  If you’re at a coffee shop or on a plane and connect to their WIFI without a password and some sort of advanced security (like a VPN), anyone on that network can access your system and everything on it. (See tip #2!)

Michael’s journey reflects both the urgency and opportunity of the field. His work at Wake Forest SPS equips the next generation of leaders to be able to apply cybersecurity tactics in ways that strengthen organizations and protect communities. 

Expand your understanding of a constantly changing field through the online Master of Cybersecurity Leadership program from Wake Forest University’s School of Professional Studies (SPS). Learn more today.